Yes, Yes, Yeti! is a push-your-luck card game build around a cool catch-up mechanic

Can you be the first to snap a photo of the Yeti and become the most celebrated photographer in the world? Find out in a race-to-the-finish with Yes, Yes, Yeti!

Yes, Yes, Yeti! is an easy-to-learn family game for 2-6 players. Each player takes a coloured character standee and makes their way along a path of cards to try and reach (or pass) the Yeti first. The complication to this is that movement isn’t handled by dice rolls, as you might have guessed, but by placing down number cards.

These number cards have a number on them from 1-6, which indicates the number of moves you’d like to take. There are only 30 movement tiles in the board, so it’s not a particularly long game, but it’s made longer due to the risk-reward mechanic of slipping up.

Slipping up is the heart of the game. If you’re at the front on your turn then you’re always at risk of slipping, and so is the player (or players) who place the move card with the highest number. All other players move unencumbered.

The test to see if you’ve slipped up is really simple: One assigned player plays cards from a third deck — a deck that is comprised of green and red cards. They reveal cards equal to the highest number played, stopping if a slip-up is drawn. If a slip-up is played equal to or before your intended move then you don’t get to move, you remain static. If none are drawn then you get to move. Simple.

This is an incredibly balanced system that feels great, and easy to understand. If you’re at the front then you’re always up against it, but you can mitigate the risk by moving less. Maybe you don’t want to though. But, if you’re trying to catch up with them then you still risk slipping up if you try to rush forward with a really high number. Playing it safe and moving low amounts is great, but you’ll definitely not be first to the finish line and… if everybody else plays the same number as you (which isn’t always guaranteed because you only have three cards in hand to choose from at once), you still have to test for slipping.

If two players land on, or slide past the Yeti at the end then they do a final showdown, through the slipping system, to see who wins… the bravest, or the most cautious. If they don’t, which they often don’t, then the extra tiles at the end do seem like a bit of a waste (but you can race to the cave if you wish instead).

I really enjoyed Yes, Yes, Yeti!. It’s a great little card game that doesn’t take up much space, has a little bit of deviousness about it and can be set-up, played and put away within 10 minutes.

Yes, Yes, Yeti! is available now from Amazon.